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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mate — to breed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. mate — a partner
  11. staff — employees
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — to paddle
  15. squash — the sport
  16. row — a line
  17. content — the amount
  18. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com